“Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.”
It is fascinating to me that right after James goes off on a faith-rant, he transitions into a discussion on how complicated it is to be a teacher. As a form of non-apology for his earlier statements, he is letting people know of the risk he is taking in being willing to teach. He’s acknowledging that even teachers make mistakes, and he is publicly accepting any negative consequence that could come were he to be wrong in the things he is saying.
Even teachers say too much. Teachers risk greater levels of scrutiny because their mistakes are public, but really we are all in the same boat. I hate walking away from a situation knowing that I spoke in ways I did not intend. Our ideal statements are hardly ever the same as what actually comes out of our mouths.
James’ point here is not to shame his readers or even to tell them to strive for perfection. The key word is “if.” IF we could control our tongues, we’d have it all figured out. But since we all know that is never going to be possible for us in our human frailty and sinful state, we can come to an acceptance that “we all make many mistakes.” If you are facing regret or shame about mistakes you have made, especially when you have said things you wish you could take back, sit in solidarity with all of humanity. We all have been there. In fact, we are all there now. It’s why we so desperately need God’s grace, which is available to us in the moment that we humbly say, “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”